1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to safety harnesses; and more particularly to convertible suspension and/or seat harness systems utilized for protection against falls from heights in fire rescue, rescue operations, wind energy applications, mining applications, rope access applications, telecommunication applications, tower applications and various other industrial and construction activities.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Safety harness equipment provides protection to a person, animal or object to prevent injury or damage. Safety harnesses are worn by people as standard safety equipment. Generally, the harness is donned by a person and is connected to a stationary object via a lifeline or other suitable connection. Often, safety harnesses are used in combination with a fall arrest device to reduce any forces exerted on the person from the fall and/or regulate deceleration and prevent the person from descending at too rapid a descent.
Various design performance standards have been set forth in different jurisdictions or countries. For example, in the United States performance standards have been issued by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). In Canada performance standards have been issued by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA).
Safety performance standards are generally classified as Class I, Class II or Class III harness devices. Class I safety harnesses include belt harnesses, which are considered the least secure class of harness device. Class II safety harnesses include suspension and seat harnesses. Class III safety harnesses include chest harness type devices.
Various safety harnesses have been heretofore disclosed and utilized. Examples of safety harnesses can be found, as follows: U.S. Pat. No. 8,375,467 to Real et al. discloses a safety apparatus for a person at an elevated location; U.S. Pat. No. 7,735,150 to Wolfe discloses a safety harness; U.S. Pat. No. 7,467,419 to O'Neal et al. discloses a rapid extraction body harness; U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,782 to Young discloses a combination clothing/safety harness for fall arresting and rescue from confined spaces; U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,444 to Dennington discloses a Shock-absorbing safety harness; U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,976 to Gunter discloses a safety harness; U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,548 to Grilliot et al. which discloses a firefighter's combination trousers and safety harness; U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,943 to Murray discloses a fire service harness; U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,275 to Mansfield discloses a safety harness kit; U.S. Pat. No. 2,372,557 to Dowd discloses a quick-release harness construction; YatesGear.com teaches a conversion from a seat to a waist harness.
Suspension harnesses in general provide support from the crotch region of the wearer; while seat harnesses provide support in the thigh region. As a result, when the harness is being worn for a long period of time, the seat harness with support in the thigh region is more desirable as the suspension harnesses having the primary support located in the crotch region can become uncomfortable over extended periods of wear. During firefighting operations traditionally a firefighter wears a suspension harness of the Class II variety, while during technical rescue operations a separate seat harness must be donned, sometimes over the top of the suspension harness while the firefighter is riding in the responding rescue vehicle. This is not only cumbersome, but it can be dangerous as the firefighter must unbuckle his/her seatbelt in order to dress into the seat harness.
During use in wind energy applications, mining applications, rope access applications telecommunication application, tower applications and various other industrial and commercial activities, a user typically dons a Class III suspension or fall arrest harness, but cannot use the same harness comfortably in various different applications, therefore they may need to have two separate harnesses. None of the heretofore disclosed and utilized safety harnesses provide a safety harness that solves the problem associated with the need for more than one type of safety harness.
According, there is a need in the art for safety harness that can readily be converted from a suspension harness to a seat harness without the need to change harness systems or clothing. What is more, there is a need in the art for the ability to readily convert a harness from a Class II harness to a Class III harness with minimal manipulation.